Trigger alert
We are all susceptible to being triggered and having, what has been coined by Daniel Goleman, as an emotional hijack. Fortunately, for most of us, those moments won’t happen on live television in front of millions of people around the world.
At the 2022 Oscars ceremony the world witnessed a public example of an emotional hijack the moment actor Will Smith took to the stage and slapped comedian and host Chris Rock. Smith reacted angrily and aggressively to a joke Rock had made about Smith’s wife. After slapping Rock, Smith returned to his front-row seat and continued to scream loud obscenities at the host.
These were not the actions of a man who was thinking calmly and rationally. Within twenty-four hours, Smith acknowledged his behaviour had been unacceptable and inexcusable, and he said he was embarrassed by his actions. ‘Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,’ Smith said. His emotions had been hijacked in a very public way.
Neuroscientists have been able to establish that our emotional responses to psychological pain, like being accepted or rejected, being treated fairly or unfairly, or being rewarded or punished, rely on the same neural circuits in our brain as a physical injury. Having our feelings hurt impacts our brain in the same way as if we break a bone.
As leaders, we need to be alert to our individual triggers which might prompt an emotional hijack. The more we practice understanding ourselves and gaining awareness into what motivates us and what triggers us, the better chance we will have to manage that trigger before we find ourselves acting impulsively and in a way we may later regret.
What triggers will you look for this week to avoid an emotional hijack?